i was wondering what are some good ways to sink drift wood (i hate that stuff thats drilled onto that slate uckkk) Or are there any other choices of wood to use? sticks,bark,anything!? i have this type of tree root in my tank and its very cool it sunk very nicely...:hehe:

It's not cheap, but African driftwood is heavier and will sink, even when not waterlogged. It also has a much more gnarled, rough look. I took out my light North American Driftwood after it started rotting (after being submerged for three years) and I love this new stuff. It's not cheap, though.

PetSmart has some really nice looking plastic driftwood, though. Next tank, I am going to go with one of those. No phosphate leaching from rotting wood, no floating. Just decor.

Is there any source for roots? I have seen the african drift wood, and it is good for small tanks (less $$) , but is pricy! I always see pictures of amazon tanks with roots and more branchy driftwood...Where do people find these?!

i have two pieces of root,its very heavy and resembles drift wood kinda, but with little roots on the inside of it and alot of times has many differnt grooves for fish to hide and sticking plants like anubias and java fern into its crevises...i forgot what the exact name is but i get it at my LFS and its something-Root,ill find out next time i go and post it

yea im thinking about doing that...im trying to water log mine right now, theve been sealed in a bucket for about 2 weeks...changing the water every so often so it dosent smell...i wonder how long it will take...?

Did you weigh down the wood? Rocks, bricks, whatever? It will speed up the waterlogging process. I also wouldn't seal the bucket, let it get air. If you say it smells, your probably getting hydrogen sulfide (swamp gas). Change water every 2 weeks until its sunk, and the water isnt stained by tannins in the wood. If you can do it outdoors I would.

You mentioned somewhere along the line that you are young and on a tight budget.

Do you live in a city or country area? If you are in the country or suburbs, I seriously encourage you to go collecting driftwood. Wait till spring, unless you dig the cold. Then go wander some streams and stuff. You can find some cool wood either in the water, or on the banks. It's free and I think it's fun! BE SAFE, go with a buddy, and don't drown yourself!

Then sink wood as mentioned above, and if it's small enough, boil it for 2 hours.

Matter of fact, I encourage anybody who can to do this. Looking at streams and natural landscapes also gives you good layout ideas.

Collecting driftwood of the shore of places is great! Since my older brother goes to University of MN in duluth, I have gone driftwood searching on the shores of lake superior, but they have more rocks available than wood that would sink....

I highly encourage anyone to do this! I went with one of my friends who also has aquariums and it as really really fun, especially with the lake superior, since it truly is beautiful! Good suggestion corvus, I am definitely going to try getting it "in the wild" before buying it, but am looking at the approach to a planted tank w/o driftwood. This book I have has a set up of a planted discus tank w/o driftwood so the discus are safe...

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